The LAPD has long turned to wealthy boosters to supplement its multi-billion dollar annual budget, but the influx of private money is prompting concerns.

"I believe the technology was deployed too quickly in too vast amounts, with hundreds of vehicles, when it wasn't really ready," one police official told federal regulators last month. Emergency first-responder leaders told federal regulators in a private meeting last month that they were frustrated with the performance of autonomous vehicles on their streets--that city firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and paramedics are forced to spend time during emergencies resolving issues with frozen or stuck cars. One fire official called them "a safety issue for our crews as well as the victims." WIRED obtained an audio recording of the meeting. Officials from San Francisco and Austin, where Waymo has been ferrying passengers without drivers for more than a year, said the vehicles' performance is getting worse.

In addition to affordability, New York City's mayor-elect will be forced to reckon with the NYPD's sweeping mass surveillance operations. New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani may have an ambitious policy agenda, but overhauling the self-governing and deeply dysfunctional behemoth that is the New York City Police Department is not on the list. Mamdani surprised supporters by asking current Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to stay on after his inauguration early next year. Tisch, a technocrat heir to a vast real estate fortune, clashes with Mamdani on several fronts, including policy (she believes New York State's bail reforms caused rising crime) and the geopolitics that inevitably make their way into New York City's streets. One area where Mamdani is guaranteed to clash with Tisch is on the NYPD's massive technical surveillance apparatus and intelligence-gathering methods, which have metastasized since 9/11 to levels that rival the capabilities of a midsize country.

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San Bruno police posted a photo of a Waymo and a dilemma, writing: 'Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn't be issued.' San Bruno police posted a photo of a Waymo and a dilemma, writing: 'Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn't be issued.' San Bruno officers pull over Waymo but say a ticket wasn't issued, as'citation books don't have a box for "robot"' If a driver makes an illegal U-turn, but no one is behind the wheel, does the car still get a ticket? A police department in California grappled with this existential question last week. During a DUI enforcement operation, officers in San Bruno pulled over a car without anyone behind the wheel after the autonomous vehicle made an illegal U-turn at a light.

Plus: Microsoft has stopped letting Israel use its technology for surveillance. Flock Safety, whose drones were once reserved for police departments, is now offering them for private-sector security, the company has announced. Potential customers include businesses trying to curb shoplifting. If the security team at a store sees shoplifters leave, they can activate a camera-equipped drone. "The drone follows the people. The people get in a car. You click a button and you track the vehicle with the drone, and the drone just follows the car," says Keith Kauffman, a former police chief who now directs Flock's drone program.

Flock Safety is pitching its police-style drone program to private businesses. It could bring aerial surveillance to shopping centers, warehouses, and hospitals. Flock Safety, whose drones were once reserved for police departments, is now offering them for private-sector security, the company announced today, with potential customers including including businesses intent on curbing shoplifting. Companies in the US can now place Flock's drone docking stations on their premises. If the company has a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly beyond visual line of sight (these are becoming easier to get), its security team can fly the drones within a certain radius, often a few miles. "Instead of a 911 call [that triggers the drone], it's an alarm call," says Keith Kauffman, a former police chief who now directs Flock's drone program.

The new president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, Teresa Sánchez-Gordon, is a former L.A. County judge who says her upbringing in an undocumented family gives her a unique perspective on the current challenges facing the LAPD.

This delayed impact of actions is prevalent in the real world.